Four-Wheel Bob to attempt Sierra crossing

Updated 11:46 pm, Saturday, May 11, 2013

Photo: Michael Maloney, The Chronicle

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Bob Coomber of Livermore puts on his well worn gloves, showing his muscular forearms as he heads up Miwok Trail in Morgan Territory Regional Park near Livermore on October 26, 2008. Day 2 of a 4 day trek along the Diablo Regional Trail.

Bob Coomber of Livermore puts on his well worn gloves, showing his muscular forearms as he heads up Miwok Trail in Morgan Territory Regional Park near Livermore on October 26, 2008. Day 2 of a 4 day trek along

The Bay Area's world-renowned wheelchair hiking legend, Four-Wheel Bob, will set out this summer to be the first wheelchair hiker to cross the Sierra Nevada.

Four-Wheel Bob, a.k.a., Bob Coomberof Livermore, has picked a 35-mile route that he can traverse with his personal four-wheel-drive. Yet it includes a High Sierra pass approaching 12,000 feet, a region known for some of the most violent afternoon thunderstorms in the High Sierra, and a few crossings with creeks and rocks where a temporary assist could be required.

"I expect it to take at least seven days," Coomber, 57, said. "It gets slow for me way up there."

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I have done all the trails in this area, and it can be a challenging route for anybody.

But Four-Wheel Bob is not anybody. He has hiked more than 100 parks in the Bay Area, including all 70 in the East Bay hills. He is the only wheelchair hiker to reach the summit of 14,256-foot White Mountain above Bishop. President George W. Bushsent him a special fitness award, and he was inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame.

At 20, Coomber was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. At 35, he broke his left leg simply by bearing weight on it. Doctors told him he had debilitating osteoporosis, and at 40, he was in a wheelchair for life.

Instead of giving in to a disability, he instead strives to create ways to be successful. After being confined to a wheelchair, he says, the outdoors pulled him out of severe depression. His motto is "no excuses." His favorite quote is from Albert Einstein: "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity."

This next expedition will have plenty of both. He plans to start at 9,200-foot Onion Valley Trailhead, in the eastern Sierra out of Independence. It's a 2,645-foot climb over 5 miles to 11,845-foot Kearsage Pass, which has never been traversed by a wheelchair hiker.

If Four-Wheel Bob can make it up and over Kearsage, he can turn left on the John Muir Trail (surface can be soft here over the course of 2.5 miles) to Vidette Meadow. Then it's a final 11.4 miles on a good trail along Bubbs Creek, though with a few small creek crossings, to the end of the trip at Road's End in Kings Canyon at 4,600-foot elevation. From Kearsage, that is a descent of 7,245 feet.

On the visor of my truck, I keep a postcard-size photo of Four-Wheel Bob that shows him a short distance from the summit at White Mountain, where it appears a halo is above him.

It is the best inspiration I know to cherish every day on the planet.

Trout, good & bad

Good: The biggest trout of the year, a 17-pound brown, was caught at Lower Twin Lakes near Bridgeport (Mono County); the fish was 33 1/2 inches long and hit on a hand-painted F-18 Rapala, reported field scout Tim Goodeof NorCalFishingNews.com.

Bad: In a sweep operation, 17 Fish and Wildlife officers (game wardens) stopped 3,000 anglers during opening weekend in Inyo and Mono counties and reported that they issued 60 citations and 43 warnings. Why don't the same officers do a sweep on water pumpers and cite them for illegal method of take, being over limit and fish wastage?

Sightings

Big blue: Field scout Keith Bollingersaw a rare pair of giant blue whales offshore from Kirkham Street at the Great Highway last week, each the size of a Muni bus. "I'll never forget this whalefrolic as long as I live Again," Keith wrote. "What a thrill!"

Tomales otters: Just five years ago, sightings of otters in southern Tomales Bay near the wetlands were a rarity. Now it seems a daily occurrence, both from shore and for kayakers.

Speaking of otters: At the Oakland Zoo, three baby otters born in February, each weighing about three-tenths of a pound, now weigh 4.5 pounds and can be seen by the public.

Always special: Bill Hollandsighted a bald eagle last week while driving over Monitor Pass, but it gets better: He was able to follow the bird for more than 15 minutes as it soared about and then took a perch on a tree, sitting still for him to photograph it.

Rattlesnake alert: Last week, as a weather front was pushed out by clear, warm weather, there were widespread reports at parks in many areas of rattlesnakes emerging to warm in the sun, mate and hunt mice. This includes East Bay Regional Parks, the central Peninsula foothills, Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills. In Mill Valley, Wendy Coblentz had the most provocative story, when she walked into her garage and found a 16-inch baby rattler that "scared the hell out of me."

Notes from near, far

Tahoe boat inspections: Roadside boat inspection stations at Lake Tahoe opened for the season this past week. They charge you $35 for a "Tahoe In & Out" sticker to tell you what you already know if you're from Northern California: You don't have mussels on your boat. Info: (888) 824-6267, www.tahoercd.org.

Sunscreen for eyes: Most who hike, bike, boat or take part in other outdoor recreation know to wear sunscreen and protect their skin from burning and UV rays. Yet survey results released last week said that 40 percent of adults do not wear sunglasses while outdoors and that 50 percent of adults do not provide eye protection for their children; I wear my polarized Onos 100 percent of the time outside.

Coyote bite: A turkey hunter in the Sierra foothills was concealed in a remote area, wearing camouflage, trying to call a turkey in when a coyote showed up and bit him in the knee, the Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed.

Utah bounty: In seven months since a $50 bounty on coyotes was offered in Utah to protect deer and their fawns, 6,000 coyotes have been redeemed, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reported.

Oregon lions: In the same spirit, to protect deer and their fawns, a bill in Oregon is moving forward that would allow counties to opt out of a 1994 law that bans hunting mountain lions with hounds.